If you're one of those folks who likes to bend the rules when it comes to Disney refillable mugs, your free ride may be coming to an end.
Introducing Disney refillable mugs with RFID tags. That's right. Disney is currently experimenting with the idea at the All-Star Sports resort. You'll notice that these mug colors (purple, orange and green) are a bit different from the refillable mug colors offered at other Disney resorts.
What does this mean? Well, Disney is cracking down on the unlimited refill program. At the testing location, you can no longer use your old refillable mugs from past vacations (or other containers). The soda dispensers have been retrofitted to read RFID tags before dispensing soft drinks (the tags are now on the paper cups too). Only water is available without a tag.
The new RFID mugs automatically expire at the end of your vacation stay (up to 14 days) and can only be refilled once every five minutes. The display panel lets you know how many days are remaining on your mug. If you have returned earlier than 5 minutes, it will let you know how many minutes remain before you can fill up again. (Click the photo below to enlarge for detail.)
Paper cups are only good for an hour or two. And, if you try to use one of the complimentary water cups? Guess what? You can only get water.
What is particularly interesting is that the old signage would indicate unlimited refills. The signs at the All-Star Sports test location have been updated with language that does not include "unlimited" in the description. Rather it states "refills available..."
While many people are complaining about the current refillable mug testing, there is a real problem. If you've ever been a guest, you've undoubtedly witnessed other guests cheating the program. It is simply not fair to the guests who play by the rules. Especially if you're standing behind someone filling a 2-liter soda bottle (yes, it happens).
I think Disney may be considering changes that go beyond the resort beverage centers. Many guests carry their mugs throughout the parks (sometimes because schedules are tight and it is a very long walk back to the room). Perhaps Disney is considering theme park refills (maybe .99 cents a refill)? It would be a cost-savings for guests and a green alternative to disposable cups and plastic bottles.
My biggest concern as a guest is "rush times". With the current setup it appears that only two people can fill up at once (one per side). That is going to slow down a process that is already pretty slow.
Also, the last time I purchased a drink at one of the resorts, I had an issue with my drink not once, but twice. The first soda I filled up was flat. I had to dump it and start over. My replacement Coke was literally hot. It melted my ice cubes and I was left with a warm soda. On my third attempt, I finally got an icy cold Coca-Cola. The current RFID system would have locked me out before I had a chance to get an acceptable drink.
The important thing to remember is that this is only an experiment and I'm sure they will need to make many adjustments before the program "works" as it is intended without inconveniencing guests. Until then, it is business as usual for the Disney refillable mugs at most resorts.
I've written a few times now about the new 2011 Disney rrefillable mugs and available colors. I first saw the new Disney mugs in March and noted 4 available colors (pink, blue, yellow and black).
A few weeks later, however, it seemed like the black color may have been in very limited supply because it was very difficult to find. We finally found just a handful of the Disney refillable mug in black in late April while at the Pop Century resort.
I commented a few times that the yellow color seemed to be extremely unpopular. Imagine my surprise when we again visited Disney's Pop Century and found no trace of the yellow mug - not a single one. And now, there was a very large number of the refillable mug in black:
I also mentioned that the past mug only had 3 color options and I had a theory about the Disney mug colors offered for 2011. Could Disney vacationers be back to only 3 colors?
Anyway, it was a hot day and it felt really good to chill out at the Everything Pop food court at the Pop Century resort. Among other snacks, we ordered up some cheese fries:
While the order was hot and had a good amount of cheese, the portion of fries was skimpy compared to other orders we have had - especially since they cost just under $4. Compared to the Disney chili cheese fries we had at the Caribbean Beach resort, I'd definitely have to say today's order had more cheese but less fries.
I've noticed at the different Disney resorts that portion control seems to be hit or miss - between resorts, shifts and servers. At times we've seen over-generous portions offered to one guest followed by a skimpy order given to the next. In rare cases (we mostly see this at Disney's Port Orleans) the cast members carefully measure portion size on a scale. They seem to measure mostly on the dinner items like the carved meats, however, we have seen the Pop Century nachos be put on a scale.
Back in March 2011 I noted that the Disney refillable mugs had been changed to a new design and that 4 new colors were available: black, pink, blue and yellow.
Since writing that post, I began to realize that I had since not found any black handled refillable mugs and began to question myself. Did I really see people carrying black mugs that first day? I was pretty sure I did, but now I don't see them anymore. Hmmm...
I came up with a theory that my husband thought was fairly plausible. Maybe there was a small surplus of black handles and caps from the last refillable mug design and they were just using them up. The last design (a red cup with Mickey Mouse and the tagline, "Celebrate Today") had only 3 handle colors: black, red or dark yellow. So... why would the new design offer 4 colors and why would it be so hard to find black?
Well, today I actually found 2 black refillable mugs for sale at Disney's Pop Century Resort. At the registers, the only colors available were pink and yellow (LOTS of yellow). If you walked near the back of the market area, you could actually find a handful of blue mugs. I looked high and low and that's when I spotted the elusive black mug... on a very high wall shelf. The shelf was higher than either my husband or I could even reach. We asked a cast member to take one down so that we could capture this photo:
So there you have it. Yes, there are black mugs but there seems to be very few of them. Could my theory be right? I don't know. But... if you are looking a black refillable mug from your Disney resort, scan for out-of-the-way areas that others may overlook. You may actually find a black mug. At least for now, that is a rare find.
